Connecting Across the Racial Divide: Two Men at Yale
In September ’65, two freshmen arrived at Bingham Hall, assigned to the same entryway. Both had come from highly segregated high schools. One was black, and he confessed such shock at the sea of white faces that “I couldn’t tell you all apart! So, I just said ‘hi, there’ and hoped I didn’t need your name.”
The other was white, from a privileged suburb of racially divided St. Louis. He liked his new classmate, but his family strongly objected to his moving into a college dorm room with a black student starting in his sophomore year. Both men were very distraught by this resistance, and one even sought the advice of the JE Dean. Eventually, notwithstanding family pressures and the rising racial tensions occurring throughout the country, they made the decision to room together. That started a 55-year friendship close enough so that they each served as Best Man at the other’s wedding.
The first man was Myron Thompson, a highly-regarded senior Federal judge in the Middle District of Alabama. (See Myron Thompson Wins Yale Law’s Award of Merit.) The other was Tom Igoe, who had a long and distinguished career as a corporate attorney in NYC, including serving as chair of a large national law firm.
In July, they joined a monthly meeting of the Darien Men’s Association (“DMA”) to explore several dimensions of America’s current racial reckoning through the prism of Judge Thompson’s life and their own relationship. A transcript, including a paper that describes some of Myron’s most significant judicial opinions, is available here. You can also watch this video of the conversation.
Prior to their recorded conversation, the DMA group watched this short video about the life of John Lewis. In his conversation with Tom, Judge Thompson makes reference to it and talks about his personal interactions with John Lewis.
The DMA, established in 1977, is a community organization of 310 members whose mission is to provide a forum in which retired and semi-retired men can find good fellowship amidst a range of engaging activities designed to nourish both body and mind while providing a sense of community. As a critical part of its mission, the organization sponsors a Speakers Program in which it invites notable historians, business leaders, policy leaders, government officials, judges and others to share with the group their valuable insights and perspectives. To that end, the DMA invited Myron to talk with its members about his life and long career on the bench.
Following the talk, DMA members expressed their heartfelt appreciation, noting that you don’t often see two men share such deep personal reflections, thoughts and feelings in front of so many strangers. The depth of their friendship came across, and the discussion was very timely in light of the racial tensions evident today across our nation. Their respective comments brought out important character attributes and values that are sorely needed in our country, and those comments pointed toward a path forward.